Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday to claim he saved the U.S. crypto industry and declared America the 'crypto capital of the world,' promising to codify a 'future-proof digital asset market structure.' The message landed as the crypto market was already nursing heavy losses — Bitcoin dropped 3.2% to $72,800, its lowest in six weeks, wiping more than $80 billion in total market value and extending a two-week slide to 8%.
Market takes a $928 million hit
The selloff triggered the largest liquidation event in weeks. Over 165,000 traders saw positions worth $928 million wiped out, with 93% of those liquidations hitting long traders. Ethereum fared even worse, falling 4.4% to $1,975 — the first time it has traded below $2,000 since late March. The ETH drop alone accounted for a significant chunk of the liquidation cascade.
Geopolitical backdrop
The moves come as U.S. military forces conducted strikes on an Iranian military site and shot down four Iranian drones near the Strait of Hormuz. Officials described the action as 'defensive.' Iran responded by attacking a U.S. base in Kuwait. The confrontation near one of the world's most critical oil chokepoints added a layer of macro uncertainty that rarely helps risk assets like crypto.
Ethereum's 'buy the dip' trap
Santiment reported a spike in social mentions of 'buy the dip' around Ethereum after its drop below $2,000. The analytics firm warned that retail over-optimism at moments like this often signals more downside ahead — a pattern that has held in previous drawdowns. Whether Trump's pledge of a friendly regulatory framework can override that kind of sentiment remains the open question heading into a week already heavy with geopolitical risk.
